


The Tides Turn

by afterthenovels



Series: A Sea of Tidal Waves [2]
Category: Glee
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, merman!Blaine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-25
Updated: 2015-11-25
Packaged: 2018-05-03 06:45:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5280725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afterthenovels/pseuds/afterthenovels
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Landpeople never talk about soulmates as something that actually exists, something that people actually believe in –- at least not the people in Kurt’s hometown –- but to Blaine they’re a completely natural aspect of his life, and when Kurt looks at Blaine, he feels like he believes in soulmates as well.</p><p>(Sequel to <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/2056941">(Let That Dark Water) Take Me Home</a>. Read it first!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Tides Turn

**Author's Note:**

> The long overdue (and also just plain long –- look at that word count!) sequel to [(Let That Dark Water) Take Me Home](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2056941). This fic won’t make any sense if you haven’t read that one, so go read it first!

The small cave is damp and full of shadows, only lit by the soft rays of the setting sun. The light barely even reaches the back of the cave, leaving most of it in darkness, the corners and cracks on the walls disappearing into it. Blaine splashes his tail slowly through the water, his head resting on Kurt’s shoulder as they hold hands. Kurt’s clothes are already wet from sitting almost halfway in the low water, the waves lapping at his thighs, but he doesn’t even care. Even in the dim lighting he can see how the scales on Blaine’s tail have already started to change color and become smoother, more like skin, their shade now closer to pastel light green than the original dark green.

They found the cave on the same day they kissed for the first time. It’s just a small alcove near the water’s edge, partly under water, the stone floor smooth after thousands and millions of waves rolling over it during the centuries. It’s close enough to the town to be convenient but still secure enough to stay hidden from other people. The water near the cave is shallow and full of rocks, so not even the most experimental and daring fishermen will wander that way and accidentally stumble upon them.

Upon Blaine.

Blaine has been staying in the cave ever since that day, waiting for the moment the change is complete, even if Kurt didn’t want to leave him “in some dark cave all by yourself like you’re some sort of an animal that I have to hide from my dad, oh my _god_ , Blaine”. Kurt assumed that Blaine would like to be on dry land once the change started, but Blaine himself insisted that being in the water would make the shift feel less awkward in some strange way. Apparently it would soothe his changing muscles.

Once they found the cave Blaine argued that it would be the best possible place, all things considered, and Kurt gave in, but only once he had sworn that he would be with Blaine as often as possible.

“But what about your work?” Blaine asked. “Shouldn’t you be trying to find a new ship to work on?”

“My dad refuses to let me board any ships until he has deemed me fully recovered,” Kurt explained, rolling his eyes, “which, knowing him, doesn’t seem to be happening any time soon.”

Blaine smiled softly, looking down at his hands. “He seems like a good father. I hope I get to meet him soon.”

Kurt leaned over and kissed him. “You will.”

That was a few days ago already, and by now Blaine’s change is really starting to show. He seems a bit more tired, his movements slower and his words quieter as they talk in the cave. The ripples his tail makes as it slides through the water are smaller, slower, not the strong circles Kurt remembers from their time on the lifeboat. When he asked Blaine this morning if he was feeling any different, he said that he woke up with the irrational urge to stand up and start walking, even though his lower body is still in the shape of a tail. Apparently it’s a sign of his mind and vestibular organs trying to get used to the change.

“Does it hurt?” Kurt asks quietly for the umpteenth time that evening, watching as Blaine’s tail shifts under the shallow water. The sun is already low in the sky, orange and pink hues painting the clouds, and Kurt knows it’s going to get dark soon, so dark that he won’t be able to make out the color of Blaine’s tail anymore.

Blaine shrugs, the movement a little awkward since he’s still leaning on Kurt. “Not really,” he answers. “It’s more like a... Like an itch that won’t go away.” He scrunches his nose in thought, looking at his tail. “I’ve heard that the final change can hurt a little, but it should happen while I’m asleep, so I might not even notice it until it’s done.”

“I should get you some clothes,” Kurt mumbles to himself. He would much rather think about clothes than about Blaine in pain. “You can’t just walk out of here stark naked.”

He can’t help feeling scared and worried, even though Blaine himself has been amazingly calm about the whole deal.

“You’ll probably have to carry me,” Blaine laughs, lifting his head from Kurt’s shoulder and meeting his eyes. “All the stories I’ve heard say that I’ll be a little sore after the final shift.”

Kurt swallows and grips Blaine’s hand a little tighter.

“Kurt? What’s wrong?”

“I don’t like the idea of you being in pain because of me,” Kurt blurts out. “I mean, essentially because of me. I just... You’re changing and it’s going to hurt and then you’ll have to learn this whole new way of moving and living and... Shouldn’t you be scared?” He turns to look at Blaine. “Or, I don’t know, angry at me for making you go through something like this so we can be together?”

“You’re not making me do anything,” Blaine replies easily, shaking his head when Kurt tries to argue. “You’re not,” he repeats softly. “The connection between us is making me change. Our love is making me change, and I could never be angry about finding love.” He moves his thumb over Kurt’s knuckles. “I have faith in us.”

“I do too,” Kurt promises fervently, “of course I do, but it’s... It seems so unfair that you have to go through all of this, and I don’t.”

Blaine shrugs. “That’s what you get for being one of the landpeople.” He smirks. “Being one of the less adaptable ones,” he teases, nudging Kurt’s shoulder with his own. “It’s not your fault that your people are so slow with their evolution.”

Kurt lets out a small laugh. He looks down at their entwined hands, the bluish tone of Blaine’s skin looking much darker, much... browner than it did in the middle of the ocean.

“Besides,” Blaine continues, “I’m doing this for myself. Because I can’t stand to be apart from the person that I love.”

Kurt looks up, smiling back when he sees the soft curve of Blaine’s lips. As much as it pains him to think about everything Blaine is going through, he can’t help the thrill he gets when he imagines their life together, imagines Blaine in his small house near the town’s edge, imagines waking up to Blaine’s smile every morning for the rest of their lives. Landpeople never talk about soulmates as something that actually exists, something that people actually believe in –- at least not the people in Kurt’s hometown –- but to Blaine they’re a completely natural aspect of his life, and when Kurt looks at Blaine, he feels like he believes in soulmates as well.

A cloud moves over the sun, dimming the light even further, and Kurt sighs, dropping his forehead on Blaine’s bare shoulder.

“I should go,” he says reluctantly, squeezing Blaine’s hand. He lifts his head back up again. “I promised my dad I would have dinner with him and Carole tonight.”

“Okay.” Blaine leans in to kiss him slowly, their lips meeting for a long moment. Blaine’s lips are wet against Kurt’s, and a pleasant shiver runs up Kurt’s spine at the touch, making it even more difficult to break the kiss and pull himself away from Blaine. “Go,” Blaine laughs against his lips. “Don’t make your dad worry. He just got you back.”

“Alright, alright,” Kurt says, letting go of Blaine and standing up. The cave is just high enough for him to stand if he crouches a little, and he looks down at Blaine, at his tail still in the water. “Will you be alright?” he asks, still worried despite Blaine’s reassurances. “I could come back and spend the night if–-”

Blaine smiles, rolling his eyes. “I’ll be fine. See you tomorrow?”

“Bright and early,” Kurt promises, leaning down to kiss him one more time. “Stay safe, okay?”

Blaine’s smile turns fond. “You too.”

 

\---

 

Kurt wakes up in the middle of the night feeling like his legs have gone achingly numb.

He groans and throws the covers off, pushes himself up in his bed and tries to massage his calves to get the blood in his veins flowing again. It works, at least a little, but his legs still feel like someone is prickling them from the inside, as if his muscles are being quietly torn apart and reorganized and-–

Blaine.

Kurt immediately stumbles out of bed and almost falls over when his aching feet hit the floor, but he just knows that he has to get to Blaine, as soon as possible. He has to go _now_ because it’s not his legs that are hurting, it’s Blaine’s, it’s Blaine’s tail breaking apart and turning into a pair of legs, and somehow he’s feeling it too. Kurt barely manages to pull his boots on and grab a coat -– not because he’ll be cold but because Blaine might be -– and then he’s running out of the house, his legs starting to feel more normal with every step he takes.

Kurt rushes through the town, through the quiet streets with only a few birds pecking at the ground under the streetlamps, most of them scattering in surprise when he turns a corner. The sound of his steps echoes against the houses, but soon enough the rough gravel under his feet turns into soft sand, his boots almost sinking into it. He can hear waves nearby, seagulls screeching into the night, the sounds he has always associated with home, but they don’t really register inside his head this time. The only thing he can concentrate on is the beat of his heart, the deafening _Blaine, Blaine, Blaine_ of its rhythm.

He runs through the beach, thankful that it’s still relatively early in the night and even the fishermen haven’t woken up yet. His legs are starting to ache again as he gets closer to the cave, and he almost trips over the larger rocks around it. The sky is clear, and Kurt can see the cave’s entrance in the moonlight before he reaches it, trying to squint inside to see Blaine.

“Blaine?” he calls out, his boots splashing in the scant amount of water covering the ground.

He hears a sharp gasp from the back of the cave, followed by heavy breathing. But it’s too dark, the moonlight doesn’t reach the inside of the cave, and Kurt can’t see anything.

“Blaine?” he tries again, more urgent this time, and moves closer to the sounds, dropping to his knees once the cave’s ceiling curves lower.

It’s quiet for a moment, but then-–

“... K-Kurt?”

Blaine’s voice sounds small, smaller than Kurt has ever heard it before, and Kurt can hear tears in it. He quickly scrambles forward, arms outstretched in front of him until his eyes get used to the darkness and he can make out the form of Blaine’s body in front of him.

“Blaine?” he says once more, carefully moving to kneel next to him. “Are you alright?”

“I–- I woke up and it felt like my body was... Like it was on fire,” Blaine stutters out. He’s shaking, desperately reaching out for Kurt, and Kurt lets him, wrapping his arms around Blaine’s shoulders and holding on tightly. Blaine’s skin feels warmer than ever before, not like the watery coolness Kurt is used to, but he’s still shivering.

“Shh, it’s alright,” Kurt whispers, pressing a desperate kiss on top of Blaine’s head. “Are you hurt? Does it still hurt?”

“No, it... it’s gone now. I just feel sore,” Blaine says. He leans down, dragging Kurt with him, and Kurt can see him patting the space in front of his body with his hand. “I... I think...” He gasps, and Kurt instinctively moves his own hand next to Blaine’s, scared that something’s wrong.

Instead he feels skin under his fingers. Warm, smooth skin, and when Kurt slides his hand over it he can feel the shape of bones and muscle and flesh, the limb twitching under his palm as if it’s ticklish.

“It’s over,” Blaine breathes out. “I... I have legs.” He collapses against Kurt like he has no energy left, letting out a disbelieving laugh that makes his whole body shake. “I can-– I’m wiggling my toes. Kurt, I have toes!”

Kurt laughs. He can feel a few overwhelmed tears fall down his cheeks, and he just needs to kiss Blaine again, his lips landing somewhere near his temple in the darkness.

“Ow, okay, no more toe wiggling.” Blaine winces against him. “How do you walk on these things? They feel really... unsteady. And sore?”

Kurt snorts. “You’ll get used to them.” He wraps his arms more securely around Blaine, but he’s still shivering, his skin almost burning hot against Kurt’s, and Kurt can feel the earlier worry coming back stronger than before. “Blaine?”

“I’m tired,” Blaine yawns, letting out a sleepy hum and burrowing closer to Kurt. “Can I go back to sleep now?”

“No, no, Blaine, honey, you can’t sleep here,” Kurt says urgently, brushing his fingers through Blaine’s curls.

Blaine only mumbles something unintelligible in response. He’s heavy against Kurt’s side, tremors still running up his body, and Kurt has no idea if this is normal, if this is something merpeople go through after their shift. He just knows that he can’t let Blaine sleep in this damp and dark cave when he feels like he’s running a fever. Being in a cold and damp cave might be alright for a stubborn merman who refuses to come to dry land, but it’s definitely not a place for a merman who has just turned into a human and looks like he’s about to pass out. God, he should’ve insisted that Blaine stay in his house during the shift, he should’ve argued harder. How could he have ever thought this cave was alright?

“Come on, let’s go,” Kurt says, more to himself than to Blaine. He makes sure he has a good grip on Blaine and starts to slowly drag them out of the cave. Blaine whines at the movement, his fingers grappling Kurt’s shirt weakly, but he doesn’t resist. It makes Kurt feel even more terrified when he realizes that Blaine isn’t resisting because he doesn’t have enough strength or energy for it, and he tries not to imagine what could’ve happened if someone else had found Blaine after his shift, weak and almost unconscious. What they might’ve done to Blaine.

It takes a while, but eventually Kurt can stand up carefully, pull Blaine up with him and lean against one of the bigger rocks outside the cave for a moment to catch his breath. He looks down at Blaine’s legs in the moonlight, at how they seem to dangle almost uselessly from Blaine’s naked body. Blaine’s skin has lost its bluish tone and is now a darker shade, as if he’s tanned, but his skin is still completely smooth and without any hairs, like that of a merman. It looks weird, to suddenly see legs where Kurt has already become used to seeing a tail, skin where there were scales only a few hours ago. Blaine’s whole lower body is completely human now, and Kurt absent-mindedly thinks about the tattoo on his chest –- about the merman tail curled around his heart.

It’s a bit incorrect now.

Blaine shivers again, and Kurt immediately shrugs the coat from his shoulders and wraps it around Blaine to give him some sense of warmth and decency. Blaine’s eyes stay closed, his head leaning on Kurt’s shoulder.

“Come on, Blaine,” Kurt coaxes gently, moving Blaine up in his arms when his eyelids flutter. “Put some weight on those legs, there you go...”

Blaine suddenly cries out in pain, grabbing at Kurt and trying to keep his feet away from the ground.

“Okay, no weight yet, okay,” Kurt rushes to say in panic, taking Blaine’s weight again, even more worried than before. He looks around the shore, internally sighing in relief when he sees no one else. Bumping into a random fisherman is definitely not what they need right now. He needs to get Blaine back to his house and quickly; he can feel how cold the night actually is now that he’s not wearing a coat, and Blaine seems to be drifting in and out of consciousness, his whole body weak and heavy in his arms.

Blaine did say that he was going to be sore after the change, but Kurt had no idea it would be this bad.

“Just stay with me, okay?” he pleads quietly, bending down and hooking his other arm under Blaine’s knees as he keeps the other around Blaine’s shoulders. He lifts him up in his arms, grunting with the effort, but Blaine thankfully wraps his own arms around Kurt’s neck, weakly trying to hold himself as still as possible to make this easier for him, his cheek resting against Kurt’s chest.

It takes them a long time to walk over the beach and through the town, Kurt’s arms aching from the strain and his eyes darting between the quiet houses they pass and Blaine’s sleeping form in his arms. He can still feel the tremors running through Blaine’s body, the heat that seems to radiate from him, but every now and then Kurt also finds his gaze drifting to Blaine’s legs, to the muscles that will definitely be strong once Blaine gets a hang of walking.

“I promise I’ll teach you to dance,” Kurt says in a low voice and holds Blaine a little more tightly as they pass his dad’s house, thinking about the way Blaine’s eyes shone when he asked Kurt about dancing a few days ago. It’s thrilling, to think about everything they can do together now, to know that they can stay together and he doesn’t have to say goodbye to Blaine each night and then wake up alone every morning, knowing that Blaine is hiding all by himself near the ocean.

He can introduce Blaine to his family, can live with him, can... do more than just kiss him, even though the kisses are very nice as well. Blaine had tried to explain the specifics of merpeople relations to Kurt when they were drifting in the ocean and had somehow ended up talking about the topic, and it had sounded very... confusing, with lots of different sensitive spots for giving pleasure to your partner, until Blaine had blushed and admitted that he didn’t really know what he was talking about because he had never done any of it. And that’s even more thrilling, to think about how they can be each other’s firsts in that way as well, how there are even more ways for them to connect. Kurt is starting to understand why Blaine had been so calm about the shift, so excited about living on dry land.

He remembers the stories he’s heard about Blaine’s life under water, about his distant parents and mocking peers, the area he lived in that never felt like home; how he himself has always felt alone both in his hometown and on the ships he has worked, like there is someone missing from his life. It’s actually quite easy to believe in soulmates when you think about it like that.

Once they reach Kurt’s small house and manage to get inside Kurt gently lays Blaine on his bed, pulls the coat from his shoulders and moves away to get more blankets. Blaine makes a small displeased sound at that, his forehead furrowing into a frown.

Kurt pauses. “Blaine?” He sits back down on the bed and takes Blaine’s hands in his own, rubbing his thumbs tenderly over his knuckles.

Blaine’s eyelids flutter. “D-don’t go,” he utters, his voice almost a whine.

“I was just going to get some more blankets,” Kurt says quietly, brushing a few curls from Blaine’s forehead. “I’ll be right back.”

“No, it’s...” Blaine’s eyes open for a moment, just long enough for them to focus on Kurt and then slide shut again. “I’m... f-fine. Body just–- adjusting.” He pulls Kurt closer. “C’mere.”

Kurt hesitates for a moment, but then he slides in next to Blaine, pulling the one blanket he already has in his bed over them and wrapping his arms tightly around Blaine’s torso. Blaine snuggles closer and hums, a pleased little sound against Kurt’s body. The trembling doesn’t seem so bad anymore, but Blaine still feels warm and pliant, and it doesn’t take long until his breathing evens out. He shifts in his sleep, fingers spreading slowly against Kurt’s chest, right over his heart, holding on to the fabric of his shirt over the tattoo, his knees knocking against Kurt’s.

Knees. Blaine has knees. Bony, hairless knees that he can bend, knees that he can walk and sit and run and dance with.

Kurt kisses Blaine’s hair again, blinking his eyes against the sudden tears. He feels so overwhelmed, and he’s not even the one who just went through this change. But to finally have Blaine _here_ , in his own house, in his own bed, snuggled up against him and smiling in his sleep... It’s everything. It’s everything that has always been missing from Kurt’s life, everything that his heart has ached for. Everything he has wished he could have ever since he fell in love with Blaine out in the ocean under the scorching sun.

Maybe his own legs were hurting too just so he could help Blaine, just so they could be together as soon as possible.

Blaine shifts again, pushing his legs closer to Kurt as if the warmth is making them hurt less, and lets out a quiet happy sigh. The tremors wrecking his body are getting smaller and smaller, with more and more time between them, even though his body still feels warm, making Kurt almost sweat in his own nightclothes. If it was anyone else, Kurt would have kicked the blanket off already.

But for now he just tightens his hold on Blaine, closes his eyes, and breathes in the smell of ocean that still seems to linger in Blaine’s hair.

 

\---

 

Kurt wakes up at dawn, his body still accustomed to the rhythm of living on a ship, and he slides out of bed slowly, careful not to disturb Blaine. Blaine does frown in his sleep, but his forehead smooths out again when Kurt pulls the blanket more tightly around him, making sure it covers his legs especially well. Then he just stops and stares at Blaine for a moment, smiling at the sight of him in his bed, all tousled hair and sleepy snuffles, his hand fisted around the blanket, long eyelashes shivering as he dreams.

Breakfast. Right.

Kurt eats an apple as quickly as he can and then starts putting together a few simple sandwiches, guessing that Blaine must be hungry when he wakes up. He puts the kettle on as well, and eventually it’s the whistle of the water boiling that seems to wake Blaine up.

“K-Kurt?”

The voice is confused and sleepy, and Kurt immediately drops the sandwich in his hands on the kitchen table and rushes back to the bedroom. Blaine is rubbing his eyes against the morning sunlight streaming in from the bedroom window, and Kurt can see him stretching his legs under the blanket; slowly, as if he’s testing the way they feel.

“Hey,” Kurt says softly. He sits down on the bed and strokes his hand over Blaine’s bare arm. “How are you feeling?”

Blaine scrunches up his nose. “Tired. Sore.”

Kurt frowns in worry. “At least you don’t feel as warm as you did last night,” he says, placing his hand on Blaine’s forehead. It’s still warm, but not burning up, and the color of his skin looks much healthier this morning. It’s darker than Kurt’s, tanned in a way that makes him look like he spends his days out in the sun, but it’s no longer pallid or covered in a sheen of sweat.

The color fits him. Just as well as the earlier bluish tone.

“Mmm.” Blaine tilts his head into Kurt’s touch. “M’body was adjusting. Merpeople have a naturally lower body temperature than landpeople.”

His head lolls tiredly from side to side when Kurt slides his hand into his hair, scratching at his scalp gently. Blaine still looks like someone who’s recovering from a horrible bout of summer flu, and it makes Kurt heart ache with worry, his insides twisting and turning.

“Would you like some breakfast?” he offers, desperate for something to do, something that could make Blaine feel better. “I made tea.”

Blaine blinks his eyes open, a small smile lighting up his whole face. “I’d love some.” He clears his throat. “I’ve actually never had tea before. Always wanted to try it, though.”

Kurt lets out a laugh. “I’ll make sure your tea isn’t too strong then.” He glances at Blaine’s body under the blanket, the shape of his legs barely visible through the fabric. “Do you need help getting up?”

Blaine looks down at his feet in consideration, biting his lip. He obviously tries to move them, his face screwing up in concentration and his eyebrows furrowing, but after a while he stops, wincing in pain. “I-– I think I do. They’re still so sore.”

Kurt helps him sit up in bed, situating him so that his back is leaning against the wall next to the bed, his lower body still covered by the blanket, and then fetches the tea and sandwiches from the kitchen. Blaine takes the mug carefully, breathing in the tea’s scent as Kurt sits himself down next to him with the food.

“It smells nice,” Blaine says quietly.

“Careful, it’s hot,” Kurt warns.

Blaine smiles. “I’ve never had anything warm before. We don’t really cook our food in the ocean.”

“Be extra careful then.” Kurt watches as Blaine blows into the tea and then takes a small sip, his eyes sliding closed. “I added some honey in it, just because I like my own tea a bit sweeter.”

“It’s so warm,” Blaine breathes out reverently, his shoulders and whole body melting. He licks his lips, obviously savoring the taste, a small smile on his face. “I can feel the warmth going down my throat. God, that’s amazing.”

Kurt smiles. “Do you feel like you could eat something as well?”

Blaine’s eyes widen almost comically when he takes his first bite of the sandwich. Apparently merpeople don’t have anything resembling bread either, and he chews it carefully, considering the texture and the feel of it in his mouth. He seems to like it though, eating all the sandwiches Kurt had time to make and even licking the crumbs from his fingers when he’s done, his expression astonished and amazed.

When Kurt cleans the dishes away and comes back from putting some fresh water in the kettle, he notices Blaine’s eyes drooping again, his eyelids blinking slowly.

“Come on, let’s get you back to bed.” He helps Blaine lie down, fluffing the pillow and rearranging the blanket once again, feeling like he needs to keep touching Blaine, needs to stay close to him as much as possible.

“It’s just an effect of the shift,” Blaine explains through a yawn. “It’s supposed to wear me out.”

“Just go back to sleep,” Kurt reassures him. Blaine does look like he’s almost pouting, as if he wants to stay awake for Kurt. “We have all the time in the world. It’s okay.”

Blaine ends up sleeping most of the day, only waking up twice to ask for something to drink. Kurt is glad he didn’t have any plans with his family or friends today -– he wouldn’t be able to leave Blaine, and he doesn’t think he could’ve come up with a good enough excuse to fool his dad. So instead he just putters around the house, straightening his things and washing the dishes he has been ignoring. Somehow he still keeps ending up in his bedroom, though, leaning against the doorframe and just watching Blaine sleep, as if he needs to make sure he’s still there, that this isn’t some elaborate dream he doesn’t want to wake up from.

He can hear the usual noises outside, people talking as they walk past his house, horses neighing and fishermen guiding their carts towards the nearest cities to sell their daily catch –- but inside his home is quiet and calm, even though it still feels fuller than it ever has before. Fuller in the best possible way, just because of one extra person in his bed.

Blaine wakes up again before sunset, blinking his eyes open slowly. His gaze focuses on Kurt standing in the doorway, a smile immediately spreading over his face.

“Hey,” Blaine greets in a low voice, stretching his arms. “Have you been watching me sleep this whole time?” he teases.

Kurt crosses the room and sits down on the bed, reaching to card his hand through Blaine’s curls again. He’s gotten so used to them being wet all the time that it’s a bit weird to see them dry. “Not the whole time,” he counters. “Just most of it.”

Blaine laughs. “Creep,” he says fondly.

He reaches out his hands and pulls Kurt closer until their lips can touch, kissing him sleepily. It’s just a slow, small touch of his mouth, but it still makes Kurt crave for more. He has never craved attention and touch as much as he does now that he has Blaine.

“Mmm. Can you help me get up?” Blaine asks when they pull apart.

Kurt freezes. “Already? But aren’t your legs still–-”

“No, they actually feel much better now.” Blaine kicks at the blanket. “I want to know what they feel like in action.”

Kurt fetches a pair of pants for him, helping him pull them on, and then carefully guides him until he’s sitting on the edge of the bed, his feet touching the floor. Blaine wiggles his toes, this time with no wincing, and then takes a deep breath before he leans forward and places his feet more securely on the floor.

Kurt wraps his arm around Blaine’s waist. “Are you sure you’re ready?” he can’t help but ask.

Blaine nods, his expression set. He starts pushing himself up slowly, frowning in concentration and grunting with the effort, his muscles more used to swimming and sliding through water. He sways almost right away, but Kurt helps him steady himself until he’s standing upright, his arms spread out for balance. His legs are shaking, but he seems to ignore it and just pushes on, slowly moving one foot forward and then another, taking three short steps before he stops again, breathing heavily.

“Wow,” he gasps out, trembling from the effort.

“You okay?” Kurt asks, searching Blaine’s face, hoping his voice doesn’t sound too worried.

“Y-yeah,” Blaine answers. He lowers his arms, staring down at his legs. “They feel so... different. Steady in such a different way.” He takes another step, this one a little longer than the first ones, and moves Kurt’s hands away from his waist until he’s standing completely on his own, a little unsteady but still with practically no support. He holds Kurt’s hands between his own, and suddenly he looks up and grins, his whole face lighting up. “I have legs, Kurt. Kurt, I have legs!”

Kurt laughs, overwhelmed again, feeling sudden tears in his eyes. “I can see that! And you’re already walking with them!”

Blaine takes a few more steps, each one steadier and surer than the one before, each one making his smile grow. He holds onto Kurt’s hands, but he isn’t gripping them anymore, as if he isn’t afraid he’s going to fall. He makes it all the way around Kurt, trying side-steps and regular steps until he’s back in the place where he started. He keeps laughing, smiling like he’s never experienced anything this exciting, and Kurt just has to join in, the tears falling down his cheeks by now.

“I’m walking!” Blaine exclaims. He tries to do a little kick with his right foot but loses his balance, collapsing in Kurt’s arms with more laughter. “This is so amazing!”

“Woah!” Kurt stumbles back, righting himself just before they both fall down. “You okay, silly?” he asks, tightening his hold on Blaine’s waist, the bare sun-kissed skin warm against his palms.

Blaine looks up at him, grinning so widely it’s practically breaking his whole face in half. “I’m _wonderful_.”

He cranes his neck until he can plant a kiss on Kurt’s lips, and Kurt melts against him. This is familiar despite all the changes; the slide of Blaine’s lips against his, the way Blaine lets out a pleased hum when Kurt pushes closer, Blaine’s fingers fisting his shirt and keeping him close. Kurt pulls Blaine back on his feet again, deepening the kiss and moving one of his hands to Blaine’s cheek. He still expects to feel cool, wet skin, but that’s not what he feels this time.

“You have stubble,” he whispers against Blaine’s lips in amazement.

Blaine blinks his eyes open, curious. “I do?”

“Mm-hm.” Kurt strokes his thumb over Blaine’s cheek and chin. It’s faint, but it’s still there –- fine, short dark hairs growing from Blaine’s skin, the same color as his hair, giving Blaine’s face a whole new shade. When he looks down he can see similar hairs on Blaine’s chest and arms too, darkening his skin even more.

Blaine nuzzles his face against Kurt’s hand. “So many changes... I wonder if you’re even going to like me anymore, with all these new skin colors and stubble and legs.” He gives a lopsided smile. “I don’t even match your tattoo anymore.”

His tone is teasing, but Kurt can tell from the way he’s avoiding Kurt’s eyes that he is actually worried that Kurt will look at him differently now that he’s not a merman anymore. They never did talk about it before, even though they probably should have. But Blaine was just so excited and determined about the shift that it never came up.

Kurt ducks his head until he can meet Blaine’s eyes. “Hey,” he says quietly. “I love you, whether you have a tail or a pair of legs. Blue or tan. Stubble or no stubble. You’re still you, Blaine. This change -– these changes –- don’t change that.”

Blaine’s head snaps up. “You love me?” he repeats, eyes wide.

Kurt nods, playing with the waistband of Blaine’s pants. His pants, technically, but they can be Blaine’s from now on. He does look better in them.

“You’ve never said it before,” Blaine breathes out.

“I haven’t?” Kurt frowns. He blinks his eyes. “Huh. I really haven’t.”

They’ve said a lot of things since that morning on the pier, but... No, he hasn’t said it before. He’s said it with different words, has felt it in his heart for weeks already, but he hasn’t said it out loud with those exact words. ‘I’m in love with you’ and ‘I love you’ are two completely different things. The first one made him get a tattoo, the second one gave him this moment with Blaine in his arms; and maybe it’s fitting in a way that the first time he did say it out loud was right now.

“I love you, too,” Blaine rushes to say. “I... I do, Kurt. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before, never, but I just know it with you, and I’m...” He shudders. “I’m so scared something will go wrong or-–”

“You’re scared? I’m the one who made your tail turn into a pair of legs!” Kurt counters. “I’m so terrified that I’m going to screw this up and you’ll end up hating me for everything.”

“Never,” Blaine swears, his voice sure. “I could never hate you. You don’t know what it was like out there.” He turns his head, looking out of the bedroom window. Kurt knows he can see the ocean from that particular window, disappearing into the horizon in the distance. “I’m... I will miss some things about it, of course,” Blaine goes on, “but it wasn’t... It never felt like home. I was so alone, and I honestly thought that I would never find real love.”

Kurt swallows. Oh, god, he’s going to cry again. “Blaine...”

“It’s true,” Blaine says and shrugs, as if it’s not a big deal, even though his eyes are shining with tears. “I-– I love the ocean. I will always love swimming and being in water. I will always be at least half a merman. But I didn’t really love the life that comes with it. The darkness in the bottom of the ocean, or the judging way the others would look at me, or the–- the sneers and name-calling or-–”

Kurt can’t listen to it anymore, not when Blaine’s voice keeps getting sadder and sadder with each word. He tugs Blaine into his arms, burying his face in his curls. They still smell like seawater, faintly, like he’s washed his hair in the ocean. He has known for a long time what Blaine’s life was like underwater, that he didn’t really have any friends besides his brother who then moved to a different area, but he has never really realized how lonely Blaine must’ve felt.

The ocean must be such a vast, empty place for a lone merman who likes to watch the way landpeople live their lives more than he likes living his own.

Blaine clings to him and sniffs, a wet sound against Kurt’s chest. “I’m n-not alone anymore, Kurt. So trust me when I say that I will never, _ever_ hate you for this bond between us, or for these legs. I’m so, _so_ grateful for them.”

Kurt kisses his hair, closing his eyes. He thinks about the way other sailors would look at him on the ships he worked for, wary because of his sexuality and distant because of the way he dressed and carried himself.

“I’m so grateful for you too, Blaine,” he whispers.

 

\---

 

It’s not as slow a process as Kurt predicted, Blaine learning to walk. He gets stronger every day, walking around Kurt’s house and the little garden in his backyard, stretching his muscles and even trying to run after a few days. He stumbles and falls down a lot, Kurt sometimes catching him and sometimes not, but he always gets up, a stubborn curve in his eyebrows. He struggles with clothes as well, not used to wearing them, but he says that he likes the way they make him feel warmer.

Blaine seems to like warm things, like tea and blankets and cooked food and sitting in front of the fireplace. It’s a bit surprising, but Kurt guesses his body just isn’t that used to being out of water yet. Or maybe Blaine just gets cold easily.

They try dancing one day, swaying slowly in the kitchen with their arms wrapped around each other, Blaine smiling softly and leaning on Kurt even though he doesn’t really need the support anymore. They take turns in humming melodies, background music for their dancing; songs Kurt has learned from Rachel and wordless tunes Blaine has carried in his merman heart. Kurt teaches Blaine how to twirl and how to waltz, and when he dips Blaine all of sudden, Blaine laughs with such delight, his eyes going all squinty and his cheeks pink, that Kurt wants to make him laugh like that for the rest of his life.

Kurt tries to take Blaine with him to the market one weekend, but Blaine is still nervous about being seen by other people. He worries that they’ll somehow just _know_ , that they’ll see something not-human in him and attack him, no matter how much Kurt promises to take care of him. Kurt can’t help but wonder what sort of stories merpeople tell to their children about landpeople to make Blaine so scared of the reactions. Blaine always shrugs the offers away, replying that he’ll come with Kurt when his walking is perfect, when nothing in the way he moves could pinpoint to his previous life. Kurt tries to tell him that he’s walking is already pretty perfect -– on bad days he just walks like someone who has twisted his ankle, and those days don’t even happen that often anymore -– but to no avail.

Kurt secretly kind of wishes that Blaine never loses all the traces of being a merman. He loves the fluid way Blaine moves his hands, as if they’re gliding through water every time he gestures. But he worries as well. He worries that no matter how many times Blaine tells him that he’s happy to be on dry land, that having legs and living with Kurt is the best thing that ever happened to him, that he’s so much happier now than he ever was before –- he still worries that Blaine misses the ocean too much. That taking him out of it was just not fair, and Kurt will have to let Blaine go back one day.

They’re having a simple dinner one evening in front of the fireplace, Blaine swinging his feet with a small smile as he eats and Kurt more focused on watching him than on eating, when there’s a sudden knock on the door. They both startle, and Blaine nearly drops his plate.

“Kurt?” a voice calls out. “Son, are you there?”

Kurt scrambles to get up. “It’s my dad,” he whispers at Blaine, feeling urgent even if there’s really no need for it.

Blaine’s eyes widen. “Oh. Should I...” He glances towards the bedroom, swallowing roughly. “Should I go?”

“What?” Kurt stops and stares at him. “No, of course not! I want you to meet him. If you... If you want that as well?”

Blaine bites his lip and tries to flatten his hair, a nervous tell that Kurt’s more than familiar with. He glances towards the front door. “I... Do you think he’ll like me?”

Kurt softens. He leans over to kiss Blaine’s cheek and squeeze his shoulder. “He’s going to love you.”

When he pulls the door open a moment later, his dad immediately grabs him into a tight hold, squeezing him so hard that he can hardly breathe. “D-dad,” he gasps out, “what are you–-”

“I know you said that you were going to be busy for several days,” his dad says gruffly, “but you can’t just disappear like this. I haven’t seen you or heard from you in over a week!”

Kurt pats his dad’s back. “I’m sorry, dad.”

Burt lets go of him with a harrumph but keeps his hands on his shoulders, still a little miffed. “So what’s been keeping you so busy that you can’t even come visit your old man, huh? Me and Carole, we’ve both been so worried. Even Rachel said that she hasn’t seen you.”

“Um...” Kurt looks over his shoulder. Blaine has gotten up from his chair and is standing in the middle of the room, wringing his hands and staring at Kurt’s dad with something that looks like a combination of awe and fear. “Actually, dad, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

Burt raises his eyebrows and follows Kurt’s gaze. He visibly startles when he sees Blaine, blinking his eyes a few times as if to make sure he isn’t seeing things, that there really is a strange man standing in his son’s house, and then looks between Kurt and Blaine in confusion.

“Kurt?” he asks.

“Dad...” Kurt walks over to Blaine and takes his hand. He can feel how clammy Blaine’s skin is, sweating with nerves and trembling faintly, but the touch seems to calm him a little. “This is Blaine. He’s my...” How can he even describe everything that Blaine is to him in words? “I love him.”

Burt’s mouth drops open in shock.

Blaine steps forward and extends his free hand. “I-it’s nice to finally meet you, Mr. Hummel,” he says carefully, his voice wavering only a little.

Burt blinks his eyes again but takes Blaine’s hand, his movements slow and cautious. “Nice to meet you too, Blaine. I think.” He lets go of Blaine’s hand and shakes his head. “I’m sorry, but I’m still trying to wrap my mind around this. When did– How long has this been going on behind my back? And how did you two even meet? He’s not from this town, is he? I’d know him if he was.”

Blaine looks down, his grip on Kurt’s hand tightening.

“We met when my ship burned,” Kurt explains. “Blaine helped me get back home.”

“Oh.” Burt’s demeanor softens, but he still looks skeptical. “But that was weeks ago. Why haven’t I met him before?”

“There was a-–” Kurt glances at Blaine, who’s still staring at the floor. He has never lied to his dad before, hasn’t been able to do it after everything their family has gone through, but for Blaine he will do it. If he could just come up with a lie that was plausible enough. “We couldn’t really be together at first, and then Blaine was... You see, dad, it’s-–”

“I’m a merman,” Blaine interrupts, and Kurt’s eyes snap back to him.

“A what now?” Burt says, incredulous.

“A merman,” Blaine repeats and lifts his head. “That’s how I helped Kurt get back. We met out in the ocean, when I found his lifeboat drifting aimlessly. We got to talking, and I steered his boat towards the shore, and then we realized that we had fallen in love, and... Now we’re here.”

Burt looks Blaine over, scratching the back of his head. Kurt doesn’t think he’s ever seen his dad look this confused. And his dad was pretty confused the first time he met the craziness that is Rachel Berry. “I don’t know if you realize this, kiddo, but you’ve got legs. Not a merman tail.”

“I changed,” Blaine explains. “Because of the connection between me and Kurt.” He hesitates, glancing at Kurt. “Our... Our love is so strong that my body adapted so that I can be with Kurt. It’s happened before, but it’s not that common among merpeople.”

It’s quiet for several long moments, Burt just staring at them in confusion, until Kurt swallows nervously and steps forward. “Dad? Say something, please.”

“I’m... I’m still trying to figure out if my son has fallen in love with a crazy person or if you’re telling the truth,” Burt says slowly, scrubbing a hand over his face. “I mean... A merman? Those things only exist in fairytales.”

“He’s telling the truth, dad,” Kurt swears, a little desperately. He didn’t expect Blaine to tell the truth, to be honest, but now that it’s out in the open, he needs his dad to believe it. He needs his dad to realize what an amazing twist of fate it is that he gets to hold Blaine’s hand right now and feel so loved and safe and connected, in a way that no one else has ever made him feel before. He needs his dad to trust Blaine, to trust them both.

He doesn’t know what he’s going to do if his dad doesn’t believe them. He doesn’t want to choose between Blaine and his dad.

Blaine lets go of Kurt’s hand all of a sudden and walks off into the kitchen, both Kurt and Burt staring after him in bafflement. He comes back with a small glass full of water – sea water from the basin Kurt keeps by the sink because Blaine still likes to drink a glass or two of it every day. He stops in front of Burt, hands the glass to Kurt, and then bends over to pull one leg of his pants up, folding it until it stays above his knee. He takes the glass back from Kurt with a meaningful look at Burt –- and promptly pours the water in the glass over his leg.

The skin on Blaine’s shin crackles when the water hits it, hissing like an angry snake –- and then Kurt sees it. The skin is shifting, turning into dark green scales, the ones Blaine’s tail had, patches of it appearing over his leg on the places that were touched by the salt water. Kurt can hear his dad’s sudden sharp intake of breath, and he knows he probably looks just as astonished, even if he has seen Blaine with scales before.

“W-what was-–” Burt stammers.

Blaine bends over again and dries his leg with his hand. The scales disappear, just as quickly as they appeared, the skin turning smooth and sun-kissed again. Blaine straightens up with a grimace and shakes his leg, the pant leg falling down.

“Ow,” he says in a low voice.

“Are you okay?” Kurt asks, quickly reaching out to wrap his arm around Blaine’s shoulders.

“Yeah.” Blaine shakes his leg a few more times and then gingerly puts his weight on it. “The change was just a bit too quick and a bit too soon, so it twinges a little. We’re supposed to be immersed in salt water if we want to change back for a while, and my body isn’t ready for that yet.” He frowns down at his leg.

“That w-was... You’re a merman,” Burt says, making them both look up. “You’re an actual merman.”

“I would’ve told you before, dad,” Kurt tries, “but I didn’t know how, and Blaine was so weak after his change that I needed to take care of him. Like he took care of me on that boat.”

“So he did save you? Out in the ocean?” Burt asks. He looks between the two of them, something suspiciously wet and emotional shining in his eyes.

Kurt nods. “He did. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him.”

Blaine smiles and shrugs. “And I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Kurt. I’d say we’re even,” he jokes, but Kurt can see that he’s blushing.

Burt steps forward all of a sudden and then pulls Blaine into a hug, one of his patented Burt Hummel bear hugs that Kurt has grown up with. Blaine obviously startles at the touch, though, his eyes widening and his muscles tensing in surprise, his arms flailing as Burt claps his back a few times, hard enough to make anyone shake. Kurt can feel his own mouth dropping open as well –- his dad is not the most tactile person, and he usually only offers hugs to his family members.

“You saved my son,” Burt says in a rough voice. He lets go of Blaine but keeps his hands on his shoulders, meeting his astonished gaze. There are definitely tears in Burt’s eyes. “You brought him back. Thank you, Blaine.”

Blaine blushes even more. “I–- I would do it all over again if necessary, sir,” he stammers. “I really love him.”

“Good. Because I can tell from the way he’s looking at you that he really loves you too,” Burt says and grins at Blaine, who splutters a little in reaction. “And no need to call me ‘sir’, it just makes me feel old. You can call me Burt.”

Blaine looks down and gives a nod, a small, soft smile playing on his lips. “O-okay... Burt.”

Kurt swallows against the overwhelmed lump in his throat. He realizes it all of a sudden –- Burt Hummel only offers hugs to his family members, and when he saw the way Kurt and Blaine were looking at each other, the way Kurt held on to Blaine’s hand, how they had saved each other just to be together –- he must have decided to see Blaine as family as well. Because that’s what Blaine is to Kurt, as well. Has been all along. He just didn’t realize it before.

Kurt steps closer and takes Blaine’s hand back in his, reveling in the way Blaine immediately slots their fingers together, squeezing his hand in a familiar way. Their hands fit so well together that sometimes Kurt can’t help but think that they were meant to hold each other. He whispered that thought to Blaine one night when they were both half-asleep, holding hands between their bodies, lying on the narrow bed that is still more than big enough for them. Blaine just smiled and kissed him, as if he had already had the same thought.

“Are you going to share that merman story with the whole world?” Burt asks, gesturing at Blaine’s legs. “Because to be honest, boys... That is one hell of a story.”

Kurt can feel Blaine tensing next to him and he immediately strokes his thumb over the back of Blaine’s hand, trying to calm him down. “No, we... It’s Blaine’s decision, of course, but I don’t think he would want to tell it to everyone. Do you?” he asks, turning to look at Blaine.

Blaine shakes his head. “I... I know that landpeople aren’t always dangerous. I know it, of course I do – I’m standing in the same room with two very good examples of that.” His eyebrows knit together. “But I also know the... the other side of the coin. All merpeople hear the bad stories as well.”

Kurt tightens his hold on Blaine’s hand.

Burt purses his lips. “Bad stories like what? I can take a guess, but...”

Blaine swallows and keeps his eyes on the floor. “Prisons. Experiments.” He pauses, closes his eyes for a moment. “Slavery. T-those are the most common ones.”

“No,” Kurt whispers. He had his suspicions, based on the few tidbits he’d heard from Blaine before and on the way Blaine had been so adamant about staying hidden when he still looked like a merman. But his mind is suddenly assaulted with horrible, awful images of Blaine –- his Blaine, sweet, lovely Blaine who is the kindest soul he has ever met -– trapped or forced to endure things no one should ever have to live through, and he feels like throwing up.

He will never, ever ask Blaine to come to the market with him again. Not until Blaine himself tells him he’s ready.

Burt’s eyes are furious and cold, his fists clenched. Kurt hasn’t seen that expression since his teenage years, when some of the other boys were cruel to him and his dad was the only one who was on his side.

“We won’t let that happen to you, Blaine,” Burt says.

“I know.” Blaine takes a deep breath. “I know, I’m not-– I mean, I am worried, of course I am, but it’s not... It doesn’t consume all my thoughts or anything. I just think that the fewer people know the truth about me, the safer I will be.”

“I will never let anyone hurt you,” Kurt promises fiercely and leans in to press a desperate kiss on Blaine’s temple, holding him close. “We don’t have to tell anyone else if you don’t want to. We can just say that you’re from a nearby city, or from a port on the other side of the ocean, or that we met on a boat or when I was looking for jobs in another city or whatever. Whatever you want, Blaine.”

Blaine gives a small smile. “Thank you,” he says quietly.

“And I won’t tell a soul,” Burt adds. “Not even Carole. If you want to tell her one day, that’s your own choice. But she’s not going to hear it from me. Besides, she will welcome you with open arms anyway.”

Kurt looks at the grateful way Blaine is looking at his dad and gently bumps their shoulders together. “So how would you feel about meeting the rest of my family, now that we have our backstory straight?”

Blaine’s eyes widen, the shadows disappearing from them in an instant. “Oh! That would...” He glances at Burt, who only smiles at him. “I think that would be lovely. I’ve been looking forward to meeting the people who get to call you their family.”

He bounces a little on his feet, and Kurt squeezes his hand, probably grinning like a lunatic. But a happy one.

“You’re my family as well,” he says before he can stop himself.

Blaine face lights up like the morning sun over the ocean.

 

\---

 

Kurt takes one last look around his kitchen, making sure he really remembers what he needs to buy today –- bread, a few apples and some other fruits, maybe some fish if he can get a decent deal, and definitely some vegetables since his own small garden is a bit too small to feed two people; he’ll have to expand it soon, maybe get some new seeds from Carole –- and then checks that his small leather purse has enough money for all of that.

“Are you going to the market today?”

Kurt jumps in surprise and then swivels around, seeing Blaine standing in the kitchen doorway, holding a crate full of carrots and potatoes.

“God, you scared me,” Kurt breathes out, trying to calm his racing heart. “I didn’t even hear you come in.”

“Sorry.” Blaine gives a sheepish smile. He walks further into the room and places the crate on the table. There’s soil underneath his fingernails and staining his lovely hands, darkening his skin even more. Perhaps a little surprisingly, Blaine has been the one who has been taking care of Kurt’s garden recently –- Kurt taught him the basics, but Blaine has definitely learned a lot all by himself as well. He always looks so happy surrounded by the flowers and the few vegetables Kurt grows that nowadays Kurt just ends up staring at him and not doing anything in the garden himself.

Not that he minds. Besides, Blaine seems more than enthusiastic to do Kurt’s share of the work as well.

“I am,” Kurt says as he hands a wet cloth to Blaine so he can clean his hands. “Going to the market today, I mean. It shouldn’t take too long, so we can make lunch once I get back...”

“Do you want company?”

Kurt freezes, still holding the cloth. He can feel his heart skipping a beat, or several, inside his chest. “W-what?”

Blaine hesitates, but then he takes the cloth from Kurt with a far too casual shrug and wipes it over his hands. “I could come with you, if you like?” he says, looking away in a way that Kurt knows is a nervous tell, especially with the way he’s biting his lip as well. “I mean... It would be easier to carry the food back if you had another set of hands to help you. Quicker, too.”

“You want to come to the market with me?” Kurt repeats.

Blaine shrugs again, still far too casual to be natural, trying to clean his fingernails with the cloth. “Sure. I think it’s about time. Don’t–- Don’t you?”

Kurt hasn’t asked, not since the day Burt found out about Blaine. He has happily gone to the market all by himself, respecting Blaine’s nerves and fears. Blaine has seemed satisfied staying home as well, tending to the garden or reading the books Kurt has on his shelves, in no way indicating that he’d want to come to the market. But now...

“Yeah,” Kurt breathes out. “I’d love for you to come with me.”

He steps closer and pulls Blaine into his arms, pressing their lips together just because he can, just because Blaine finally, after so many weeks, feels comfortable enough to go out, to a place with a lot of people, where they can hold hands in front of everyone and buy groceries together. It could seem like such a small thing, going to the market together, but Kurt knows how big this is.

He pushes closer, deepening the kiss, feeling it all the way down to his toes, and Blaine hums happily into his mouth, practically melting in Kurt’s arms. Kurt trails his hands lower, leaving them right above the dip of Blaine’s waist, and curls his fingers into the soft skin there, wondering if he could move them even lower, if they could just skip the market and do something much nicer for the next few hours instead. The way Blaine shivers against him in pleasure is just so very tempting.

But Blaine pulls away after a long moment with an audible smack, his mouth curved in a smile. “We’ll be here all day if we keep going,” he teases, his voice a little husky. He nuzzles Kurt’s cheek with his nose, strokes his warm hands over Kurt’s back, and then takes a step back, still smiling, even though Kurt really, really doesn’t want to let go of him. “Let me just put on a clean shirt, and then we can go.”

“We should buy you more clothes,” Kurt calls out after him. He has to clear his throat before the next words because goodness, his own voice is pretty hoarse as well. “Or some fabric so I can make you new ones. I’ve been meaning to do it, but I sort of need you to be present to know which colors you like and don’t like.”

Blaine laughs. “We can do that today, then.”

Kurt watches him walk away, the subtle sway of his hips and the way his legs take each step, the sound his bare feet make as they meet the floor; his movements so relaxed and natural –- no stumbling, no hesitation, no limping.

It is about time.

The market isn’t that far away, even if Kurt does live on the outskirts of the town –- he likes his privacy, thank you very much. Blaine has a bounce in his step the whole time they’re walking there, talking about the novel he’s been reading recently, which happens to be one of Kurt’s own favorites as well, and about the new recipes Carole recommended to them the last time they had dinner with Kurt’s parents, the ones they haven’t had the chance to try yet.

But when they get closer to the market and there are more and more people on the road, more and more carriages and running children, Blaine starts to slow down, his words halting and stuttering over themselves. Kurt instinctively reaches out to take his hand in his, swinging them back and forth between their bodies and trying to keep the conversation light and easy. It’s a nice, sunny day, and most of the people around them seem happy, talking about current matters with acquaintances and friends they haven’t seen for a few days, but Kurt only nods a greeting to the people he knows, trying to ignore the curious way they eye Blaine.

They’re only curious because they haven’t met Blaine before, that’s all, he tells himself. There are always new people at the market, travelers and wanderers, but their town is still a small one, and newcomers are always met with curiosity.

A few feet away from them an older man yells angrily at a few kids who almost knocked over his cart with their running, and Blaine flinches, his hold on Kurt’s hand tightening.

“It’s okay, you’re okay,” Kurt whispers, leaning closer to Blaine. “We can go back whenever you–-”

Blaine immediately shakes his head. “No, no, it’s fine,” he says and takes a deep breath. “I’m fine. It’s just... more people than I’m used to. It’s so loud.” He stops walking and looks around, obviously taking it all in, the chatter and the people and the few animals. “Should we... Should we look at the fabrics first, so we don’t have to carry the food around for too long in this sunshine?”

“You sure you’re okay?” Kurt can’t help but ask.

Blaine straightens his back and breathes out slowly. “Yeah.” He smiles. It’s a little worried, a little shaky, but it’s also very determined. “I’m okay.”

Kurt always buys his fabrics from the same woman –- Isabelle has a soft spot for him and gives him a discount every single time, even though he tries to tell her that she doesn’t have to. They usually chat when Kurt looks through the fabrics, but this time she leaves him alone with Blaine with a pleased smile and a not-so-discreet wink, busying herself with her other customers.

Blaine’s eyes are wide in wonder as Kurt shows him all the different fabrics, from the coarse linen to the finest silk, explaining their qualities and what kind of clothes he could make from them. He gets a little too excited perhaps, drunk on the sunshine and the way Blaine’s eyes are shining, but Blaine doesn’t seem to mind. He touches every single bolt of fabric Kurt shows to him, rubbing them carefully between his fingertips, considering them, and it takes them a long, long time to finally find the perfect fabrics –- one brown, one dark red, and one dark green.

They buy the food next, strolling through the market area with their purchases once they’re done. One or two townspeople stop Kurt and ask him to introduce them to Blaine, but it all goes well and Blaine seems to relax more and more with each encounter. They tell everyone that they met in another city during one of Kurt’s work travels and that Blaine is now here to stay, and that seems to quell most, if not all of the curiosity. Blaine is polite and charming, and asks more about the people they talk to than they get a chance to ask about him –- and well, most people do love to talk about themselves.

Blaine even gets to pet a dog for the first time in his life, and the way his whole face lights up in delight as he plays with the little dark-brown puppy makes Kurt wonder if they should get a dog once their lives have settled a bit more. He would do anything to make Blaine smile like that every day.

“His fur was so soft!” Blaine is still enthusing once they’re walking home, practically vibrating with excitement. “And he was so fluffy and kind and-– Did you see the way he was smiling? I think he was definitely smiling at me.”

Kurt laughs. “Yes, you charmed both people and animals.” He bumps his shoulder against Blaine’s, careful not to jostle the fabrics and food they’re carrying. “So... How was it, all in all?”

Blaine hums in thought. “It was... a bit overwhelming, to be honest. I kept thinking that everyone was staring at me, or at my legs.” He looks down, a little embarrassed, and shrugs. “But I think I’ll get used to it, eventually. I hope so, at least.”

“Hey,” Kurt says softly. “You did well, Blaine. You were really brave. I don’t know if I could’ve done the same if our roles were reversed.” He rolls his eyes in self-deprecation.

Blaine scoffs, but his voice is gentle. “Of course you could. You would’ve charmed the fins off all the merpeople and fish, I know it.” He grins.

Kurt leans over and kisses his cheek, just because he can. “Thanks.” Then he furrows his brows. “Is that an actual expression? ‘Charm the fins off’?”

They reach home soon enough, and while Blaine puts the food away in the kitchen, Kurt takes the bolts of fabric to their bedroom, piling them on the desk next to his needles and threads. He already has a few ideas –- the colors of the fabrics did look lovely against Blaine’s skin, and he could perhaps make some discreet embroideries in the clothes as well, something only Blaine would notice; like a secret message hidden in the cuffs of his shirt or on the waistband of his pants...

There is suddenly a pair of strong arms around him, wrapped around his waist, Blaine’s warm body against his back and Blaine’s soft lips kissing the back of his neck. Kurt leans against him with a smile and closes his eyes, holding on to Blaine’s hands over his stomach and swaying a little. Blaine’s mouth travels over his neck and shoulders, kissing every inch of skin he can reach, his curls tickling Kurt’s ears when he dips his head lower.

“You know,” Kurt says quietly, “I was so proud to be with you today.”

Blaine stops behind him, and then, after a long, quiet moment, squeezes Kurt’s waist. “I hope so,” he murmurs. “I want you to be.”

“I always am,” Kurt promises and turns around in Blaine’s arms. The light around them is soft, sunshine streaming in from the windows through the drawn curtains, and he can see the upwards curve of Blaine’s mouth, the small gentle smile he only reserves for Kurt, for the moments when he’s particularly touched by something Kurt has said or done.

It makes Kurt’s heart beat a little faster every single time.

He closes the short distance between them and presses his lips against that smile, Blaine immediately responding to the kiss. It starts slow and sweet, almost as if a part of Blaine is hesitating; but then he pushes closer to Kurt, his fingers digging into Kurt’s back, tilts his head to give him better access. Kurt’s own hands are roaming all over Blaine’s body as he deepens the kiss, from his shoulders to his arms, to his strong back, to his narrow waist, to the subtle curve of his hips, touching and caressing, and before he even realizes it, his hands slide down to Blaine’s ass, pulling him closer.

Blaine gasps into the kiss, and for a moment Kurt wonders if he should stop, if he should slow down or back off, but then Blaine rocks against him, already panting a little, his eyes dark.

“Please,” he breathes out, needy and desperate.

Kurt swallows roughly. “A-are you sure? I don’t want to make you uncomfortable or–-”

Blaine nods and kisses him again, nuzzling Kurt’s cheek. “I’m sure. I’m so sure, Kurt.”

His body feels warm and inviting against Kurt’s, trembling and still pushing closer, both hard and soft in all the right ways, and Kurt kisses him deeply, licking into his mouth. Blaine moans breathlessly into Kurt’s mouth, and somehow his hands have ended up in Kurt’s hair, keeping his head in place as if he can’t bear the idea of letting go of him.

“I... I think I should mention at this point that I have no idea what I’m doing,” Kurt breathes out against his lips.

Blaine laughs and ducks his head. He’s blushing. “I think you still know more than I do.”

Kurt slides his hands slowly underneath Blaine’s shirt, and Blaine’s eyes close at the touch. This is familiar, this is something he knows already -– the feel and warmth of Blaine’s skin, the way Blaine’s stomach shivers when Kurt moves his hands over his sides, as if he’s ticklish; the short hairs over his body and the softness of his skin that still somehow feels like he has recently spent time in the ocean –- like the memory of saltwater is still clinging to Blaine’s body.

They undress each other slowly, blushing and nervous, the sunlight shifting behind the covered windows. Blaine touches him like he’s something precious and new and full of wonder, something the world and the hard physical work on dozens of ships hasn’t stained yet, finding each scar and old bruise and kissing them with his fingertips and his lips, loving all of him with his touch. Kurt maps Blaine’s body with his own hands, looking for the curves and angles he hasn’t memorized yet, learning them by heart: the faint tremble in Blaine’s muscles when he kisses his neck, the spot on his jaw that makes him moan -– and the softness and love in his eyes when Kurt lays him down on the bed (on _their_ bed) and hovers above him, suddenly feeling breathless and like his heart is about to burst right out of his chest.

Blaine trails his fingertips over Kurt’s chest, right over his racing heart, right over the merman tattoo. “I–- I don’t know h-how-–” he stutters.

Kurt leans down and kisses him. A reassurance for both of them. “Me neither. But we’ll take it slow, okay? You’re my first as well.”

Blaine nods. He slides his palm up and up, until he can cup Kurt’s cheek in his hand. “I love you,” he whispers. His voice is shaky with nerves, probably just as shaky as Kurt’s hands, but his smile is sure and full of trust.

Full of love.

“I love you too,” Kurt breathes out and lowers his body against Blaine’s, skin against skin, with nothing between them.

 

\---

 

The feeling never really goes away -– the tiny itch under his skin that maybe Blaine misses the ocean, that maybe living on dry land will just turn out to be too much for him one day. It doesn’t matter that Blaine himself has never said anything like that; quite the contrary, actually. He has flourished in the last few months, walking around the town on his own and even making friends, smiling even more than before.

He has also started to give lessons to young children, because apparently learning all on his own how the landpeople live when he was still a merman has made him an excellent teacher, given him an amazing understanding of how learning works. The kids all love him, call him Mr. Blaine with their little voices full of awe, and their parents are completely head over heels for him as well. Every time Kurt and Blaine go to the market they get stopped by grateful parents and enthusiastic children who all want to thank Blaine or just say hi. Blaine gets adorably flustered whenever it happens, and Kurt can feel his heart swelling with pride inside his chest.

Kurt himself has abandoned his days as a sailor for good. He doesn’t want to see the world anymore as badly as he did before, at least not if it means seeing it from a ship. He wants to see the world with Blaine, wants to experience it with the man he loves instead of conservative shipmates that couldn’t really care less about him. He has started to help Isabelle with the fabrics, to her absolute delight, and has even gotten a few sewing jobs. It’s nice –- much better than burning his skin and breaking his back on old rickety ships. He has a few regular customers already, and Blaine keeps recommending him to everyone they meet, so he thinks he might actually be able to turn this into an actual business one day.

Everything is good in their life, everything is _amazing_ , and Blaine seems happier than ever –- but somehow Kurt still can’t shake the feeling that it’s all just too good to be true. That one day Blaine will look at him with tears in his eyes and tell him that he can’t do this anymore, that he’s suffocating, that he just misses the ocean too much and wants his tail back.

It’s Kurt’s biggest fear.

It’s been rainy and gray for days, the downpour making the roads look like rivers and everyone coming home with soggy clothes whether they had an umbrella or not. The rain lets up a bit during the third night, but the weather is still miserable, and it’s a particularly strong gust of wind that wakes Kurt up in the middle of the night. He blinks his eyes slowly against the darkness of their bedroom and listens to the way the window glass is rattling in the wind, harsh droplets of rain beating the roof above him. It’s a little chilly in the bedroom, so he turns on his side, still half-asleep, reaching for Blaine’s warm body under the blanket-–

Except Blaine isn’t in bed.

Kurt sits up immediately, pushing the covers off, wide awake in an instant. The bedroom is empty around him, the shadows making everything look distorted and odd. The sounds of nature from outside echo through the house, a cacophony of noises that still seem to have some sort of an eerie rhythm.

Kurt gets up and pads through their home, checking the kitchen and even glancing outside to make sure that Blaine’s not in the garden trying to salvage their carrots from the rain, but every room is empty. Blaine is nowhere to be found, and his boots are not in the hall.

Kurt stands in front of the front door and swallows against the fear in his throat. Another gust of wind shakes the house, and he wraps his arms more tightly around himself, trying to warm his shivering body. Blaine wouldn’t just leave like that. He wouldn’t. He has been so happy, so excited, has kissed Kurt just as much as he always does, has held him close and arched under and over him when they make love. It just doesn’t make sense. Waking up to an empty house doesn’t make sense, and Kurt can feel the fear and worry tightening around his heart, tears gathering in his eyes even though he tries to blink them away.

That’s when he sees it –- a small note taped to the door, hidden underneath the dark shadows covering the whole house.

Kurt snatches the note and folds it open with trembling fingers, blinking his eyes to make out what it says. It took some time for Blaine to learn how to write the words he already knew how to say out loud, since merpeople don’t really use written language and as fluent as Blaine is in landpeople’s language, he had never written anything in it before. He was determined, though, almost scarily so, working on his handwriting so much that he almost got wrist cramps. But he did master it, and Kurt knows Blaine’s handwriting as well as he knows his own these days, knows the way it curves over the paper and slants a little to the right.

 

_Kurt, my love,_

_In case you wake up while I’m gone–-_

_I went to the shore. Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon._

_Love you,_  
_Blaine_

 

The shore. In this weather.

Kurt drops the note on the floor and immediately pulls his boots and coat on.

The roads are still covered by puddles of rain water, but he runs through the town anyway, his boots splashing against the water. The rain has turned into a drizzle by the time he reaches the edge of the beach, but he’s soaked through already, his hair hanging over his forehead in limp spikes, and he has to push them away to clear his vision. The sea is nothing but rolling waves that look ominous in the darkness of the night, gray and black and dangerous, and Kurt squints his eyes to make out something that does not look like waves or wet sand as he rushes over the small sand hills.

And then he stops.

Blaine is sitting in the sand close to the water’s edge, his boots placed next to him. When Kurt walks closer he can see that Blaine’s bare feet are buried in the sand and his eyes are closed, his face lifted up towards the sky. He’s only wearing a thin shirt and a pair of pants Kurt made him a few weeks ago, both of them completely sodden; his hair is a mess of dripping wet curls, his long eyelashes like brushes of wet ink against his cheeks.

He’s not exactly smiling, but his expression is somehow... calm.

“Blaine?” Kurt says quietly, carefully, as if he’s worried that Blaine will bolt.

Blaine blinks his eyes open slowly and turns his face towards Kurt. “Kurt?” he asks, surprised. “What are you doing here?”

Kurt wraps his arms around himself, shivering in the harsh wind. “I... I woke up, and you weren’t there.”

“Oh.” Blaine’s lips turn into a sheepish, embarrassed smile. “Sorry. I thought I would make it home before you woke up.”

Kurt swallows, feeling untethered and uncertain. “What are you doing here?”

Blaine looks at the ocean, a small smile still playing on his face. “It’s been six months tomorrow, you know. Since I changed.”

Kurt crouches down next to him. He wants to reach out and touch Blaine, wants to pull him up and take him back home, strip him bare of his wet clothes and keep him warm with the heat of his own body. But something in the tone of Blaine’s voice stops him.

“It’s been a good six months,” he says quietly, hoping Blaine doesn’t notice the way his voice wavers.

“It’s been a great six months,” Blaine corrects him, his smile widening. “I could change back now, you know. If I wanted to. I’m strong enough now that my legs could completely turn into a tail if I went into salt water.”

Kurt blinks his eyes. He’s pretty sure the wetness in them is not just from the rain anymore. “Completely?” he repeats in a thin voice, thinking of the little patch of scales Blaine showed to his father when they first met.

“Yeah.” Blaine nods, still staring at the ocean. “If I went out there, I would look like a merman again.”

Kurt wraps his arms more tightly around himself. He feels cold, colder than he ever has before, because Blaine is leaving him and there’s nothing he can do to stop it. Nothing he would do, because he loves Blaine so much, loves him with everything he is, and he just wants him to be happy. If going back is what it takes for him to be happy, he’ll just have to let him go. No matter how much it will hurt, no matter how completely it will shatter his heart.

“Is... Is that why you’re here?” he asks. “T-to go back?”

Blaine’s expression turns confused, his eyes blinking a few times. His feet shift in the sand. “Go back where?”

“To the ocean,” Kurt answers. He has to swallow again, his throat feeling too dry and too full of tears at the same time, the rain making his eyes sting. “I know you must miss it -– I should have never asked you to change, to make you live here with me and give up your tail. I just thought that we could work it out, that we could compromise somehow, or that maybe, I don’t know, we wouldn’t–-”

Blaine turns to face him, his brows furrowed, and Kurt wants to reach out and smooth those lines away from his forehead. “Kurt, what are you talking about? You never asked me to do any of those things.”

“I don’t want you to leave me,” Kurt gasps out. It feels like he’s breaking in half just saying those words out loud, admitting to himself that Blaine wants to go. “I know I’m being selfish and horrible when I say that, but I love you so much, I love you _so much_ that sometimes it hurts to be so full of love, like it’s all going to spill over or burst out, and I can’t imagine my life without you anymore, I just can’t-–”

His voice breaks, and it’s like he doesn’t have enough air in his lungs.

“B-but if you want to go,” he goes on, just because he needs to get the words out, “if you need to go to be happy, I won’t stop you. I promise, Blaine. I won’t force you to stay, I would never-–”

Blaine stops his rambling with a hand over his mouth, soft and careful. “Kurt, I’m not going anywhere.”

Kurt can feel tears trail down his cheeks as he stares at Blaine. “But you said-–”

“I never said I was going back,” Blaine interrupts him. He moves closer to Kurt, shaking sand from his toes, and slides his arms around Kurt’s trembling shoulders, pulling him against his own body. “Honey, I can’t imagine a life without you either, why would you even-–”

“But you’re sitting here in the middle of the night, talking about how you could change back now-–” Kurt tries, keeping his arms to himself even though Blaine is trying to pull him closer, trying to support him in the wet, shifting sand.

“I’m here because I wanted to remind myself how it was all worth it,” Blaine says, his voice wavering with emotion. He frames Kurt’s face with his hands, forcing him to look into his eyes. Blaine’s eyes are shining with tears, his face so beautiful and familiar. “I wanted to look at the ocean and know that I made the right choice. That all those days and nights I spent waiting for you, all those lonely swims under water, all those taunts and whispers and pain –- it was all worth it, in the end. Because I got you out of all of it. Because I found you, my soulmate.”

Kurt stares at him, his heart starting to feel whole again, hopeful and wishing. “B-but you must miss it. I can see you watching the ocean sometimes, and that longing in your eyes is just...” He feebly gestures towards the sea with his hand.

Blaine lets out a wet laugh. “Of course I miss it. I’m practically still half a merman. The ocean will always be a part of me, no matter how many miles I walk or how many dance steps I take.”

“Then why–-”

“And maybe I will go for a swim one day,” Blaine goes on, “for old time’s sake. But I will always come back. I will come back to you every single time. I promise.”

Kurt lets go then, reaches out for Blaine and lets him hold him, buries his face in the wet curve of Blaine’s neck. He cries, cries because he loves this man so much, because he has been so afraid that he won’t be allowed to keep it, that he will have to let go and say goodbye, like has had to do too many times in his life already. He clings to Blaine and feels Blaine cling to him, the gentle drizzle of rain falling over them, the waves roaring right next to them.

“I don’t want to hold you back,” he says against Blaine’s skin. “I don’t. I love you too much to let you be miserable.”

Blaine sniffles. His voice sounds tearful. “But I’m not miserable, Kurt. I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.”

Kurt shakes his head, still doesn’t understand it all. “B-but you left. In the middle of a storm, in the middle of the night–-”

“And I told you not to worry and that I would be back soon.” Blaine leans back, meeting Kurt’s eyes. “I wanted to see the ocean. I wanted to see it and know that even though I could go back, I don’t want to. I wanted to see the waves and know that they’re not my home anymore. Haven’t been for a long time.”

Kurt blinks his eyes.

“You’re my home, Kurt,” Blaine says softly, sounding so sure. “And I’m never saying goodbye to you.”

Kurt knows that he’s crying again –- maybe he never even stopped –- but he surges forward anyway, cupping Blaine’s face with his hands and kissing him with everything he has, with every fiber of his being, with every drop of love he has running through his veins. Somehow it feels like their first kiss all over again, relieved and elated and loved, droplets of water dripping from their hair and getting mixed up with the tears on their cheeks. Kurt feels like he’s crying and laughing into the kiss, and Blaine is holding him tightly, his fingers digging into Kurt’s back as if he’s trying to fuse them together.

“Please don’t talk about us not being together,” he gasps. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Never,” Kurt promises fervently. “Blaine, never–- I’m so sorry I doubted us, I’m so sorry, I was just so scared that I was dreaming and would wake up soon. I’m so worried that I just take and take from you, without giving anything back in return.”

“Are you kidding me?” Blaine says. “You have given me _everything_.”

Eventually the rain ends and the wind calms down. They walk through the sleepy town hand in hand just as the morning breaks, barefoot and carrying their boots in their free hands, wet clothes sticking to their skin. When they reach their house they dry each other off with towels, laughing softly and sneezing from the cold, dropping their clothes carelessly on the floor until they’re both naked -– and then they slip under the covers again, curling their bodies together, Kurt’s hand stroking over Blaine’s hand and Blaine’s fingertip tracing the outlines of Kurt’s tattoos. They kiss slowly, softly, lips sliding together in a swaying waltz; whisper reassurances and confessions and declarations of love into each other’s skin until all the fears and worries have been silenced by them, covered with words and touches and love.

They’re safe. They’re home.

A few months later they both get new tattoos, Blaine his first and Kurt his fourth. Blaine’s tattoo is one half of a heart, small and barely visible on the left-side curve of his hip. The heart’s surface is covered with dark green scales that shine in the moonlight when Kurt kisses the tattoo a few nights later, as if it’s a piece of a merman’s tail, shifting with Blaine’s movements. Kurt’s tattoo is the other half of the same heart, placed on the right-side curve of his hip, painted with gentle blue ocean waves and shimmering golden sand, tiny seagulls flying above them, the birds’ wings almost looking like they’re moving when Kurt twists his body.

They’re small tattoos, easily covered with clothes. Both of the halves also have a thread with a needle going through their broken side, as if they’re just waiting to be sewn together, and when Kurt and Blaine sit or stand side by side, their shoulders touching; or when they make love, bodies pressed together –- the hearts meet and come together as a whole, like puzzle pieces.

 

\---

 

A month or two after that Blaine does go for his first swim. It’s the middle of the night again, calm and warm this time, and Kurt watches as Blaine slowly strips off all of his clothes and steps into the water. He walks deeper, small patches of dark green scales appearing over his skin, until his whole lower body is immersed in water, and suddenly he winces, like there’s electricity running through his muscles. Kurt steps closer, worried and scared, but then Blaine’s back bows, his shoulders relax, and he throws himself into the water, a strong tail flicking water through the air behind him.

He swims a few laps, disappearing under the surface and always reappearing before Kurt has the chance to worry, his tail kicking against the water easily, as if it hasn’t been almost a year since its last time. Kurt smiles and walks closer until the soles of his boots get wet, and soon enough Blaine swims towards the shore, looking up at Kurt with a grin.

“Join me?” he asks.

Kurt bites his lip. “Is it cold?”

“A little,” Blaine admits. “But you’ll get used to it pretty soon.”

Kurt huffs out a laugh and takes off his own clothes, placing them in a neat pile next to Blaine’s. Blaine takes his hands when he wades into the water, pulling him deeper with gentle, smooth movements. The water is cold and makes him shiver, goosebumps rising over his skin, but Blaine’s touch is a warm contrast, keeping him grounded.

“Your skin didn’t change color,” Kurt comments when he’s waist-deep in water.

“Huh.” Blaine looks down at his tan skin, without a hint of blue in it. “No idea why. Maybe that’s too big a change or something.”

Kurt smiles. “How do you feel?” he asks.

Blaine swims around Kurt, still holding his hands and making him turn a full circle with him. “It’s a bit weird. It’s been so long that swimming should probably feel unfamiliar, but at the same time it’s like my body knows exactly what to do.”

He turns a little in the water and then suddenly splashes his tail through it, spraying them both with water and completely soaking Kurt’s hair.

“Blaine!” Kurt shrieks.

Blaine laughs and swims easily around Kurt. “Come on, don’t tell me you didn’t play this game when you were a kid?”

“I did, but not with someone who has such a big advantage,” Kurt splutters and shakes his head, water dripping from his hair. “Honestly, you are such a prat sometimes.”

Blaine pouts at him.

“Don’t try that with me, mister,” Kurt warns, even though he can feel his lips twitching with a smile.

“What if I promise to dry your hair once we get back home?” Blaine asks.

Kurt pretends to think. “Is a head massage included?”

“Of course.”

Kurt sighs. “Fine, I guess I can work with that.”

And then he splashes water over Blaine with everything he’s got.

They’re still giggling a while later when they sit in the sand, leaning against each other. Blaine’s legs are in Kurt’s lap, still with a few patches of scales over them where they’re wet under his pants, but otherwise looking the same as they have for the last months. He insists that the change wasn’t that bad this time, but he still wants to rest his muscles for a while before they trek back to the house.

“Swimming is much more fun when you’re with me,” Blaine says through his laughter and leans his cheek against Kurt’s shoulder.

“Of course it is,” Kurt replies, squeezing Blaine’s waist. “We should make this a tradition.”

“Once a month?” Blaine asks and looks up at him with a smile.

Kurt nods. “Twice, if the weather allows it.”

“Yeah. That sounds nice.” Blaine’s smile softens. “I love you,” he adds, like it’s the easiest and most natural thing he has ever felt and said.

“Love you too.” Kurt kisses his hair, the wet curls tickling his lips. He thinks about the ring hidden in his bedside drawer, the one he bought a few weeks ago already but hasn’t just found the right time to ask. He has been staring at the closed drawer every night with Blaine sleeping pressed against his side, wondering how he should ask, which words to choose and what gestures to make. “You ready to get up?”

“If you give me a hand,” Blaine says. He winces when he moves his legs from Kurt’s lap. “I feel like I’ve run to the market and back.”

Kurt helps him stand up and takes most of his weight when they start walking towards the town, their steps slow. It’s a clear night, the moon giving just enough light to make everything look silvery and magical, and Blaine is humming a tune under his breath as they walk, some silly little song they heard at the market a few days ago.

Kurt listens to Blaine’s voice, to the steady sound of their footsteps, to the quiet hum of the ocean that’s always present in the town wherever you go, to the seagulls screeching somewhere in the distance. He feels calm in a way he can’t remember ever feeling before he met Blaine, like he’s exactly where he’s supposed to be; right in the middle and still at home, his hair wet from ocean water and his skin dry. Blaine has always been so sure about their love, about their connection, but he himself has had a harder time trusting this happiness -– perhaps because the idea of soulmates isn’t something landpeople actually believe in, or perhaps because he’s been scared of losing Blaine and getting his heart broken.

He isn’t scared anymore.

Blaine straightens up but keeps his arm around Kurt’s waist, fingertips slipping under the hem of his shirt in a natural afterthought. He’s smiling, and Kurt thinks he can see all the questions and all the answers of his whole life in Blaine’s eyes, in the curve of his lips and the angles and planes of his body.

He has been waiting for the right time in vain. Blaine is the right time. It’s as simple as that.

Fifteen minutes later he takes the ring from the drawer, and before he even gets the question out of his mouth Blaine jumps to his neck, kissing him breathless and smiling like he’s the sun and the earth and the ocean, gasping out an answer somewhere between all the kisses and happy salt water tears.


End file.
